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Originally Posted by Eric640
Do you want your kid to hate you? Parenting isn't about being Joseph Stalin.
Do YOU (or your wife) wear thongs? You gotta look at the examples you are setting.
Don't be Hitler and dont be a hypocrite. Thats exactly why kids shut out their parents. It may not seem like a big deal now, but when shes 16 you are going to want to be able to TALK.
Chances are, you're NOT smarter than your kids. Stop thinking you are.
IF YOU CLOSE DISCUSSION ON THINGS LIKE THIS NOW THEN THOSE LINES OF COMMUNICATION WILL REMAIN CLOSED WHEN MORE IMPORTANT ISSUES COME UP.
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I'm sorry, but I totally disagree with this attitude. Parenting is exactly about making decisions for your children until they are old enough to be able to make them for themselves and fully understand the consequences of their actions. Raising children is not a democratic process.
While I would like to be a friend to my daughter, if I had the choice of her thinking of me as her best chum while exposing herself to all kinds of dangerous situations, or thinking of me as a dictator while she was safe and cared for, option 2 will win all the time. I do not rest easy knowing that my daughter thinks I'm a cool Dad while she rides on the back of a Harley driven by a tatooed Satan-worshipper called "Snake."
And while I do all I can to set a good example to my daughter, especially in areas such as respect, courtesy and morality, she must also realise that we are not equals - she is a kid and her mother and I are adults. If her mother wants to wear a thong, she is old enough to make that decision. If she wants to wear a thong, tough luck, I am old enough to make that decision for her. I don't mind talking to her about the decision that I've made either.